MINUTES…Cheerleading Committee/League Reps.                                                         April 9, 2014

6:00 pm at “Empire Cheer”... Henrietta

I.                    League Reports..Many leagues had similar concerns.  The comments below reflect issues/concerns that were voiced by each league but they did not bring up issues that we had already discussed. 

Allegany... Darice Mullen was not in attendance, however; I received an email from her when I got home.  Allegany’s concerns:

They would like the D schools to be divided in two again or divided into large and small. Schools are losing interest in participating when they have to compete with so many schools and add level of difficulty.  They would like more explanation and examples of degree of difficulty especially with stunts and chorography.  They would like training for coaches in degree of difficulty since many coaches have little training or are volunteers.  They would like to be informed when the judges training is scheduled so some can attend.  Darice noted that Allegany County is “fighting to keep Allegany Cheerleading alive”.

City Catholic/Independent  Michelle Bealle told us that the City Schools are struggling since they do not have feeder programs...only Varsity.  Many cheerleaders have never cheered before by the time they are sophomores.  Although she does not want to eliminate level of difficulty she notes it is difficult to compete.  She would like to divide into large and small schools if possible.

Fingerlakes  Laura Hovey said that her league suggests that we have coaches fill out the difficulty rubric ahead of time so that judges know what to look for.  Her league wants to know how 10ths of points are decided.  They feel that motions and dance are too subjective to score difficulty.  It was noted that some of the wording on the execution score sheet addresses level of difficulty.  This should be changed.

Genesee  Penny Cole represented Genesee Co.  Penny is concerned about losing site of what cheerleading has always been about....cheering on teams, leading crowds, building self-esteem, working as a team, being productive members of the school and community and being a role model.  She is concerned that the addition of level of difficulty has forced many coaches to coach with the goal of winning a trophy at the expense of the student’s physical and emotional welfare.  She asked us to consider what the new score sheets are doing to some of the small schools.  She agrees that we need to be competitive but not at the expense of destroying some programs and denying some students the chance to participate.

The league is having difficulty in the tumbling category.  Many schools do not have access or finances for tumbling instruction.  They are at a disadvantage for level of difficulty.  It would be beneficial to “recycle” tumblers.

Livingston  Ashley Herkimer and Shaun Loomis stated that Livingston Co. had many of the same concerns.  Ashley would like to see a Cheerleading Hall of Fame.

Monroe  Elaine McGurk reported that Monroe Co. would like to use the same rubric for all competitions.  She discussed a deduction sheet for “bobbles”.  The league would like more judges training.  She asked if we could video for safety.  The question came up if we could address the fact that some schools do not cheer for their teams.  Elaine noted that the schools decide how individual teams participate in regards to games and competitions.

Steuben  Gay Fairbrother reported that her league liked the 10 am start and would appreciate it if we could keep it that way.  They would like to see the judges closer to the mats and the coaches to be able to be closer to the judges.   They asked that we indicate who is competing before the competition begins. (We post the schools in the warm up area.  We will be certain to cross off anyone who is not participating in the future.) 

Wayne  Betsy Pulver mentioned that many of the schools in Wayne only have Varsity teams.  Many do not have mats or a safe place to practice.  It is difficult to compete at a high level or to really get many schools interested in competition. Her concerns followed many of the previous leagues.

SUMMARY: 

1)      Joanne will find out what the “State” plans to do with their rubric.  It is our goal to follow the same rubric; however, we have to have our rubric in place in the summer in order for coaches to plan for the fall tournament.  After she talks to them we will make our decision and finalize our rubric for 2014-15.  Joanne will also find out if the “State” plans to “recycle” cheerleaders for tumbling and/or stunts.  We will be consistent with this decision.

2)      We will look into dividing classifications into large and small divisions.

3)      We will look into more explanations and examples in regards to difficulty.

4)      We will check the wording on score sheets to be certain that the execution sheets do not incude level of difficulty.

5)      We will consider a bobble judge.

6)      We will consider breaking down the score sheets and have each “panel” judge responsible for both execution and difficulty in the categories he/she are judging.

II.                  Ronald McDonald Game/Donations...Total $3575.70

THANKS to everyone who contributed.     It is such a worthwhile cause...

please encourage your league or individual schools in your league to help us continue this fundraising next year !

Thanks to Gay Fairbrother and Rachel Telisky for coaching.

Cheerleaders were from: Allegany (2 Fillmore); Fingerlakes (Bloomfield, Midlakes, Red Jacket); Genesee (Attica); Livingston (Dansville, Geneseo,Livonia); Monroe ( Fairport, Pitts.Sutherland, Spencerport); Steuben (Arkport, 2 Avoca); Wayne (Sodus).

III.                Sectional Competitions at RIT   2014-1015

Fall                                 October 25, 2014

Winter                          February 7, 2015